GovernmentExecutive.com

The Defense Department said it will go ahead with its planned personnel overhaul, despite a ruling by a judge last week that a similar plan from the Homeland Security Department is illegal.

Proposed rules for Defense's new personnel framework, dubbed the National Security Personnel System, were published in February in the Federal Register. In that notice, the department clearly laid out its use of DHS' system as a model.

NSPS Program Executive Officer, Mary Lacey, wrote in an e-mail Tuesday that the Pentagon "plans to continue to go forward with finalizing our regulations and our plans to implement NSPS later this year."

NSPS developers were "extensively informed by the DHS experience, in terms of both process and results, in designing, developing and drafting these proposed regulations," Pentagon officials wrote.

What's more, NSPS officials said that "where it made sense," they "adopted many of the concepts and approaches and even much of the specific language set forth in the DHS regulations."

The regulations specify that NSPS mirrors the pending DHS system in terms of labor relations, adverse actions and appeals--all areas that were contested in the DHS lawsuit.

Judge Rosemary Collyer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the collective bargaining portion of DHS' proposed system did not provide adequate binding contracts for employees, in large part because DHS reserved the right to issue directives that voided contracts at any time.

The decision affected only the labor relations portion of DHS' personnel plan, not its proposed pay-for-performance system.

"Like DHS, the authorizing law for NSPS makes it clear that collective bargaining and the rights of workers be preserved and respected," Gregory Junemann, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers said. "However, to date, the administration has failed on each account. I only hope that this decision will serve as a wake-up call to...be more adhering to the letter of the law..."

American Federation of Government Employees President John Gage said the union was "not finished with litigation on this thing, especially when it comes to DoD." Gage also said the Pentagon's proposal is "actually worse than DHS'," and urged Defense officials to rethink their plan, adding AFGE will ask for hearings on the system.

The proposed NSPS rules were subject to meet-and-confer sessions with unions after publication. The final regulations are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register this fall, according to an NSPS official.

COMMENTS

• As a concerned voter and taxpayer I am concerned about how you are dealing with contract labor with the Department of Defense. I am concerned about the contractors currently employed at military bases. I would like to know how they are going to be paid. Are they going to be paid from general worker's pay pool, because you only have contractors at the working shops because they are associated with the upper management either through friendship, family, or a relationship with them. This is not right or fair and balanced. If you need to cut money, you need to deal with contractors first instead of looking at the civilian workforce, because this will create friction in the workplace. This is because you are paying contractors to sit around and do nothing just because of their position with management, and management has used up the money that should have gone to the civil servants to pay contractors. What are you going to tell the federal employees and the American taxpayers? Please respond to my concerns. Sam Dawson Posted November 3, 2005 9:25 AM
• No Greg- that is the definition of insanity, repeating the same action over and over again expecting different results. The definition of stupidity involves believing you can bring Democracy to groups of warring clans and getting caught in the crossfire. No-on second thought that falls under insanity as well. GovExec.com reader Posted August 26, 2005 8:07 AM
• What is the true definition of stupidity? Repeating the same actions over and over again expecting a diffrent result. When will DOD wake up and smell the coffee. Somebody should tell them they already had the right to hire and fire, Apparently "Duke Rumsfeld" and "King George" didn't bother to look at that part. Its the fault of lazy managers and incompetant promotions of the golf buddy rather the qualifications of good individuals that have caused the system we have today. If DOD has a complaint with the workers then they are treating a syptom not killing the virus. The problem lies with bad management that has sat on thier laurels for years, promoting not due to qualifications but because of a "good ole boy" system. Now these "managers" have to do more with less because of downsizing and low and behold they are unable to cope. Anyone can run a "fat" organization where you have a 30 to 40 percent overhire status. Now that government has to be accountable and show savings..... You reap what you sow is appropriate i beleive. You have people incapable of running their organizations as they have never had to be a real manager. So DOD invents NSPS.... What are they truly trying to heal? NSPS is the mangement placebo to mask many of its own inadequacies when it comes to properly running a leaner organization and to hiring and firing practices. Greg DeMott Posted August 22, 2005 1:45 PM